Someone's swiping dinosaur parts from Russian institute

The Russian Paleontological Institute is frequented by children and school groups

An inside job by the 'bone mafia'?

February 8, 1998
Web posted at: 8:36 p.m. EST (0136 GMT)

From Correspondent Steve Harrigan

MOSCOW (CNN) -- For six years, thieves have been looting the Russian Paleontological Institute, with stolen fossils turning up for sale in Germany, Japan and the United States.

The thefts, at first, were small. The bones of a few amphibians that existed 240 million years ago disappeared.

Then the thieves began stealing dinosaur skulls. The jawbone of a tarbosaurus is gone without a trace.

"This is really a tragedy because this is a specimen on which a new species is based," said Maria Hekker, a scientist.

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Fossils stolen from Russian instute
	2.6M/50 sec./240x160 1.6M/50 sec./160x120 QuickTime movie

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Some of the stolen bones have been sold for half a million dollars.

Have employees or scientists been involved in the thefts?

Igor Novikov, the institute's deputy director, denies the existence of a "bone mafia" inside the institute.

"It is nonsense to say that our scientists are stealing. Despite the low pay, our workers are enthusiastic," Novikov said.

Employees say that when they tried to blow the whistle on the problem, the director fired them.

"He spoke many times openly in the institute that such persons must be kicked out ... because they bring to daylight some things that shouldn't be discussed," Hekker said.

Some dealers with stolen fossils claim they bought them from institute officials, who also provided documents needed for export.

Despite the disappearance of five skulls last year, institute officials failed to call the police. Now some senior Russian scientists are speaking out.

"This has never happened here before. Scientists stealing from their own institute. The academy wants to avoid talking about it, hoping it will just die quietly," said Vladimir Strakhov, a scientist.

Related stories:

• Fossil embryos illuminate early era in evolution - February 4, 1998
• Kids get chance to rename T-rex - January 24, 1998
• After 75 million years, dinosaur 'speaks' - December 5, 1997
• Museum readies to assemble its T-Rex - October 23, 1997

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